How Could You?
by soulwriter5
Summary: Hermione catches Harry and Ginny in a comprimising situation and leaves before Harry can explain himself. She disappears for 3 years before Harry stumbles upon her while visiting a fairly new bar...Can he win her back or will he marry his new fiance?
1. What the FK!

Chapter 1: What the F--K?

_Jab, Jab!_

An exhausted Hermione Granger was just about ready to collapse on the stoop in front of her flat and leave it at that. She had been running to and fro all day at St. Mungos (as she had decided to become a healer and was now, unsurprisingly, the head of her department) and all she wanted now was to get home to the flat she shared with Harry Potter, no-longer-the-boy-who-lived-but-the-man-who-won, and her boyfriend. That's right, they _were_ together. She and Harry had been living together since their second year together. They had been together for 5 years, ever since the final battle where Harry finally put an end to all the cruelty that was Voldemort.

_But that's not helping me right now is it!_ Hermione thought furiously. _Damn Door._ She decided to give another go before blowing the bloody door to smithereens. The key went in, she turned the handle, and pushed open the door to one of her worst fears. She froze. There, on the couch, _their_ couch, was both Harry and Ginny, snogging their brains out.

_Well, actually, Ginny seems to be the one doing the snogging. Harry is laying there, rather rigidly, if you ask me…it was a setup. You know Harry would never do this to you, he loves you._ But Hermione either wasn't listening to that part of her mind or just didn't care.

"What the- How could you- I thought- HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!" She blurted out before she could stop herself, not that it wasn't anything she didn't want to say.

She tried to ignore it, but some part of her knew Harry had at least appeared to be struggling to get up and away from Ginny when she came in. However, it was nothing like the flash in which he detached himself from her when he heard Hermione's voice.

"Hermione! It's not what you think!" He cried. He knew she wouldn't listen now, but he had to at least try. He had to try and make her understand. But it was too late.

"HARRY POTTER, YOU ARE THE BIGGEST ARSE HOLE I HAVE EVER HAD THE MISFORTUNE OF MEETING! IT'S OVER AND AS OF NOW, I HATE YOU!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, before turning on her heel and running as fast and as far away from that god forsaken flat, as she could at the moment.

His heart cracked and broke in two at her words, then finally shattered at the sight of her leaving. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't stand, he couldn't think, hell, he could barely see straight and he fell backwards onto the couch. Putting his head in his hands, it was a moments of unbearable silence before he felt a hand slide on to his thigh.

"Its okay, Harry, now that Hermione is out of the picture, you and I can be together again, remember? Just like the good old days back at Hogwarts?"

All his hurt seemed to bubble into angry at that moment, _she wasn't even sorry_. Before Ginny even knew what was going on, Harry had jumped up, an angry fire blazing in his eyes, and he had her by her arm, dragging her up off the couch.

For the first time in her life, Ginny Weasley was truly afraid of Harry Potter. "You better stay the FUCK away from me. I want nothing to do with you. EVER AGAIN. You just screwed up the best thing I had in my life so that you could rid yourself of some fucking randiness! It doesn't fucking work that way! You can't mess with people's lives like that!" He held her tightly by the arm, so tightly that she was quite sure it would leave a mark for her to find in the morning.

She tried yanking her arm away, but to no avail. "You can't talk to me like that! Let go of my arm, Harry! You're hurting me!" She yelled back indignantly.

"I can talk to you however the fuck I want to right now! You're just a stupid little girl who was spoiled too much and then got a crush on me, we went out, but when you realized you couldn't have me anymore, you decided no one could! Reality check, it's not your fucking choice!" He retaliated, he pushed her towards the door and showed her the real meaning of being 'thrown out of the house'.

In his unbridled show of anger, he slammed the door so hard, he ended up shattering it. It went almost unnoticed by him. He was numb. He slowly, made his way over to the couch, or rather the small table by the couch, and picked up the two empty glasses and the unopened bottle of champagne, then made his way over to the kitchen where he put the glasses back into the cupboard while the champagne was left discarded on the counter as a sad reminder. It took all he had to walk over to the stairs and pull his way towards his bedroom. _It would still be 'our' bedroom if I could've gotten away faster, gotten Hermione to listen._ _No, this isn't her fault at all. It's my fault. It's all my fault. I'm such an idiot. What the hell am I going to do without her? _

When he reached the bedroom, the lights were still dimmed, the candles still lit, the soft music still playing, virtually untouched, as if unaware that anything had happened. He went to each candle and blew them out, feeling as though more and more of his hope was going with each extinguished flame. He turned off the music with a wave of his wand, which then realized he could have used to do everything else with, and made his way over to the bedside table where one candle was still lit. His heart clenched, as it flickered teasingly over a small unopened burgundy box. He reached toward the table and picked it up. He sat down on the bed and stared at the box for a long while before slowly opening it to reveal a brilliantly carved, emerald stone set in a gold band that shimmered in the candle light.

_(Flashback to earlier that evening)_

_He was going to propose to her. He was going to so it that night. He had it all set up, he got off work early and went to the jeweler's, where he picked up the newly inscribed ring that read **HP+HG Forever**, before returning to their flat where he set up the room as romantically as possible for (what he hoped to be) a long, vigorous night of…fun. Then he made his way downstairs, cleaning as he went. He got to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a cold bottle of champagne while non-verbally summoning two champagne glasses. He brought them over to the side table by the couch and put them down. He picked up her favorite movie and popped it into the DVD player, when he heard the front door open and close. Before he had a chance to turn around, two small hands covered his eyes and a seductive voice whispered into his ears. _

"_Don't open your eyes."_

"_Hermione?" He questioned, she didn't quite sound like herself. He felt her tense up behind him then relax a second later._

"_Shhhh. Don't talk." The voice whispered again. He felt the hands turning around, but he did as he was told and didn't open his eyes. He felt lips crushing into his, kissing him deeply and, thinking that this was Hermione, he responded quite eagerly. He felt himself being pushed backwards on the couch, never breaking the kiss. He ran his tongue along her lower lip and she opened her mouth immediately. It was then when he realized something was off. **Hermione doesn't taste like this, she tastes better than this. What the hell? **His eyes shot open to fiery red hair. **Oh shit! Ginny! **Right when he had put his hands on her shoulders he heard the front door open and close again. His stomach dropped. He heard the sound of desperation in the other person's voice. Hermione's voice. He pushed Ginny as hard as he could away and stood up in a flash._

"_Hermione! It's not what think…"_

_(end flashback)_

He sighed, knowing he had screwed up pretty badly. He might as well have shot himself in the heart. _It's better than this feeling, whatever it is, is._ He thought as he flung himself backwards onto the bed and groaning loudly into his hands. _What I am going to do without her?_


	2. Shrouded in the Darkness

Cloaked in the shadow of darkness on one of the coldest, windiest, rainiest days Britain had seen all year, a figure sat…thinking. She was remembering what happened on that one rainy day, so long ago. She couldn't help it. She hated that after all that time, she still couldn't control herself when it came it that. She hated what he did. What she did. She hated what had become of her, when once she was proud, respected, dignified in her own manor.

Her thoughts were cut off, not that she minded of course, by the door of her scarcely furnished room opening and a figure entering slowly.

"What are you doing here alone in the dark?" The voice called to her, making its way across the room.

"What I'm usually doing when I'm sitting alone in the dark." She dead-panned. The figured, though in the dark, flinched. He still could not understand how such a lovely, intelligent, talented young woman such as her, could be so down trot all the time. Especially when it rained. She couldn't hide anything as well when it rained. He knew this. After spending that much time with her, he had come to think of her as the daughter he never had. He knew that she rarely smiled though, even when in good spirits. Sure, there had been the ghost of many smiles that had never been smiled, but a real smile? He could count the number of times she had smiled a real smile, on one hand.

"Why? Why do you always do this to yourself? You're a fabulous young woman that could be doing a hell of a lot better than this…not that I'm complaining, mind you." He asked her, it being the millionth time the question had left his lips over the span of knowing her. Her answer rarely strayed from "That's my business" or "I don't want to talk about it", but he continued asking anyways, hoping, one day he would get an answer.

This was one of the rare times it did.

"I used to do great things. Better than this. Used to. Not anymore, though, and never again." She sighed. She really didn't want to talk about it. Or she did, but couldn't. It stilled pained her like a knife to skin every time she relived the memory.

"But why? How could you possibly stop yourself from changing the world, just like that?" He pressed on, maybe he would get an answer out of her this time.

"Because, that was a long time ago, and I'm not the woman I used to be. I'm not even sure I want to be her anymore." She answered vaguely, leaving most of his questions half answered and leaving him wanting to ask more. To help her.

He had every intention of asking more questions that would, despite his best efforts, still be denied the very answers they sought…however, but he could open his mouth, the door to her room opened again.

"We need you out here for a sec, Boss." Came a second voice, its owner standing at the door patiently. He hated that he had to interrupt, but the damn customers weren't cooperating with him.

"I'll be right there, Connor." He said as he stood from his crouched position in front of her.

"Yes sir." The voice belonging to the man named Connor said and closed the door silently.

He looked back at her.

"You sure you don't want to talk about it? Is there nothing I can do to help?" He asked, almost desperately.

"I'm sure. Though, there is nothing you can do, the concern is appreciated. I'll be fine." She said half-heartedly, hoping he would just drop it.

He did. He walked slowly towards the door and opened it, the light temporary blinding him due to his shortened stay in the dark. He turned to her once more and for the last time before leaving and said, "Ok, you do what you need to, but do it quickly because you're on in 15 minutes, Hermione." He left, closing the door behind him.

And once again, she was shrouded in the darkness, alone with her thoughts.


	3. Shout Out To All My Reviewers!

-Author's Note-

Yo, what's up readers? Sorry about the last chapter being so short but (I couldn't think of anything) I wanted a drama filler before I got the main (juicy) part of the story started (I haven't written it yet). Plus, I forgot a HUGE rule of writing fanfiction (Because I stupid). THE DISCLAIMER. So here it is:

Disclaimer: I don't care what the rumors say, I am NOT J.K. Rowling. Therefore I do NOT own Harry Potter. But the plot line is mine. Cuz I'm cool like that.

There you go. Happy everyone? Good. If you're happy, I'm happy. And you know what happy people do? They Review! That's why other authors always end their chapters with "Happy Reviewing!"

Let's review: (no pun intended lol)

-You're Happy and I'm Happy.

-You Review and I'm Happier.

-I'm Happier equals More chapters!

-More Chapters equals More reviews!

-And suddenly, we're ALL happy people!

…Sorry if I freak you guys out a bit. Some people think I'm intelligent, others just think I'm insane. Your choice.

I'd like to thank my first reviewers, cuz I'm love 'em lots.

**Goddess Of The Heart**: I'm sorry if that's not fast enough, I'm trying! Thanks for being my first review!

**Dbzgtfan2004**: I'm glad you like it. Dude, Internet High Five, Harry and Hermione Forever!

**Aliz13**: I'm glad you like it so much, I live to write for you guys. How was that for a filler chapter 2?

**Jamo0l**: Ok, no offense to any of my other reviews, but Jamo0l is now officially, my favoritest reviewer. Muchos gracias.

**Buterfly9999**: I like the setup I have too! Great minds think alike! Lol.

**Crazy-beautiful-angel**: Haha, dude, okay, you're definitely the funniest reviewer to date. Internet High five! HP+HG FOREVER!

**HPHGRW**: I like your suggestion strokes chin thoughtfully, nah, I wouldn't waste the time trying to setup a chapter just so I can kill her off, I leave what happens to her to your…ehem…creative imaginations. I wasn't trying to make Hermione mean! I was going for distraught! Thanks for the review!

Gracias again to all my reviwers. Remember… Happy Reviewing!


	4. Didn't expect that, did you?

Chapter III: Didn't expect that did you?

Author's Note: Gracias to all my reviewers! I feel very loved. Here's to you guys for making a girl's bad day better.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter, but then again, there's always _tomorrow_ night…muahahahaha. Just kidding. I swear I'm not evil.

_Jab, Jab, Jab, Jab, Jab, Jab! _

"Damn door!"_ BOOM!_

_Step. Step. Step._

"Reparo."

A pent up sigh filled the room as an exhausted Harry Potter drudgingly made his way over to his couch. Upon arrival at said location, he turned quickly, and fell back on the plush pleather sofa. He brought his arm above and behind his head and pressed the button on his answering machine.

_Two new messages for _**Harry Potter**_ as of _**today**

_New message: BEEP_

_**Harry, dear, it's Cho. Where in Merlin's name have you been all day! I am starting to worry, you know. Please, call me back and let me know how you are and where you've been. WE need to go over the wedding plans together too. I am NOT marrying myself and as such I expect you to be here, in my flat, at 8:30am sharp tomorrow morning so you can put any ideas you have into the blueprints. Ok, well, I have to go, I have a very important meeting to attend to. Love you honey. Bye!**_

_BEEP End of message._

_New message: BEEP_

**_Oy mate! It's Ron! You know, Ron, your best mate! Where ya been? I've been calling you all day and what? Nothing! Not an owl or a messenger or even a call on the fellytone! What's with that? I may be going along for the ride, but, mate, this is your_ _bachelor party and you need to let us guys in on where you want to go spend your last night as a free man! Ring me back. Wait. No, on second thought, I hate this thing. Just pop over here tomorrow morning at about 8:15am, because I won't have any more time to talk to until the day before the big par-tay and we really need to get the invites out. The guys are dying to know what's up, best not keep them waiting! See ya in the morning then!_**

_BEEP End of message._

_No more messages._

Harry let out a large groan of frustration as he stalked up the stairs to bed. He had just had an extremely hard day of work, being an Auror was not as easy as he thought it would be, but he liked it all the same. He had been late. Again. So Tonks was on his back, yelling at him. Again. He went out into the field with his partner, Neville, to trace some rumors about a few death eaters disguising themselves as dentists and giving their muggle customers a not-so-healthy-dose of arsenic, considering that if they used magic, they would get caught.

He felt a sharp pang in his chest as he remembered that Hermione's parents were dentists. And then he was thinking about Hermione. Again. Which got him distracted, so much so, that he was tackled and thrown head (or leg, rather) into a non-magical brawl with whatever face was behind the disfigured mask. He never got to find out. After a short stop at St. Mungos for a quick-heal potion for his leg, He was immediately taken back to the ministry, and berated, yet again by Tonks, for non-attentiveness.

Which led to desk duty. Again. He hadn't even gotten a lunch break. He was buried in all the reports Tonks had given him. He had wondered to himself if, maybe, she did it on purpose sometimes.

_No, she's like Hermione: tough, but fair._ He thought.

And then he was thinking about Hermione. Again. He could barely concentrate on the reports in hand. But he stayed, knowing that, _If not today, tomorrow. If not tomorrow, the next day, but not soon forgotten._ It was Tonks favorite quote. One that she had gotten from Hermione.

Damn. This was really going to have to stop.

It had already been three years for crying out loud! He was fooling himself thinking she would ever come back to him after what he did to her, even if he hadn't even been a willing participant.

Besides, he was with Cho now. Cho Chang. His Hogwarts crush. He should be happy. Ecstatic, thrilled, exhilarated, exuberant. And he was happy. He was. At least that's what he kept telling himself. Well, that, and the fact that he really had to stop thinking about Hermione now that he was going to be married. To Cho. Not Hermione.

It kind of put a damper on what was soon supposed to be the best day of his life. He couldn't dwell on that though, it was his fault Hermione was gone and there was nothing he could do to get her back.

In truth, he had only begun seeing Cho a year a half ago, and only to try and get his mind off of Hermione after his nationwide search had failed. Where ever she was, it was apparent that she did not want to be found. She was doing a damn good job of it too. Damn her for being the smartest witch of her again. Sharp pang. He hadn't even actually proposed to Cho, rather, it was the other was around and seeing as how he was pretty damn pissed at the time (being at a bar, after all), he stupidly enough, said yes. Then what? Was he supposed to just take it back? Say, "Hey, sorry, but I don't really want to marry you, seeing as I'm not at all in love with you. I was just really pissed at the time. I didn't mean it. Have a nice day though!"

No. He wasn't going to do that.

_At least I won't be alone for the rest of my life._ He thought bitterly.

It was all he could think about while staring at the ceiling, trying to persuade sleep to overcome him, but having no luck. He had a busy schedule tomorrow starting early. Damn. He started counting.

_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…_

He hit 2,765 before sleep finally began to beckon him.

His last thought being: _Damn it all, Hermione, where the hell are you!_


End file.
